Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. collection, circa 1992-2026 | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Title: Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. collection, circa 1992-2026

ID: 01/MSS00100

Primary Creator: Kennedy, Amos Paul, Jr.

Extent: 20.0 Cubic Feet

Arrangement:

The Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. collection consists of 15 series arranged by chronologically by year of accession. Series X combines unidentified pre-2011 accessions.

The collection is described at the item level. The contents of each print are transcribed in quotations, following the capitalization and wording of the prints as closely as possible.

Information contained in parentheses within the quotation marks is found at the top or bottom of the print. Often this information refers to the source of the quotation on the print or an organization involved with the event promoted on the print.

Text on the background of the prints is included in brackets within quotations. Any information in brackets outside of the quotations indicates design related characteristics of the given print to distinguish it from other prints with identical text.

Date Acquired: 00/00/1997

Subjects: Artists' Books - United States, Kuba (African people), Smoking -- Folklore, Tales -- Congo (Democratic Republic), Tales -- Nigeria, Yoruba (African people) -- Folklore

Forms of Material: African Americans - Music, American poetry, Christmas music, Miniature Books, Postcards, Proverbs, African, Spirituals (Songs)

Languages: English

This collection consists of letterpress art printed at Kennedy Prints!, Jubilee Press (also Jubalee), or elsewhere by Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. (1948-), an American letterpress printer, papermaker, educator, and social activist. Formats include postcards, posters, state road maps, and hand fans. There is also some additional promotional material for events with which Kennedy was involved. Some items for this collection are individually cataloged and searchable in Primo at the link below. Many are also digitized and available to view online as part of our Digital Collections.

See Administrative/Biographical History and Administrative Information for more information.

Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, in 1948. His father, Amos Paul Kennedy Sr., was a professor of agriculture and chemistry who taught at numerous historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) throughout his professional career. In 1972, Kennedy Jr. earned a BA in mathematics at Grambling University, and went on to pursue an MA in education.

Kennedy spent time in the Peace Corps during graduate school, which gave him the opportunity to teach mathematics in Liberia for 18 months. After contracting and recovering from malaria, he returned to the United States and settled in Gaithersburg, Maryland, taking a position with IBM as a systems programmer. He worked there for three years before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked for various computer firms and revived his interest in graduate school—this time for library science.

In 1981, Kennedy moved to Chicago, however, which once again put his formal academic plans on hold. While working for AT&T, he studied calligraphy as a hobby and took letterpress courses at Artist's Book Works, a small non-profit papermaking studio that opened in 1983. His initial interest in the printmaking process was peaked during a trip to Colonial Williamsburg, where he saw the town’s 18th century print shop and book bindery. After six months of coursework, Kennedy came into his own press and, being gifted four cabinets of type by a seasoned printer, quickly transformed his basement into a print shop. This private press was called Idiot Press, its name changing to Kennedy and Sons Fine Printing once he shifted his focus to commercial printing, and later to Jubilee Press (also Jubalee).

In 1995, Kennedy began graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and studied graphic design under Walter Hamady (1940-2019), also taking courses on the history of African art and Vodún. At this time, he moved to Bayside, a suburb of Milwaukee, and worked out of a studio there. He graduated with an MFA in 1997, and in 1998, became the first Black faculty member in the School of Fine Arts at Indiana University.

While living in York, Alabama, in 2002, Kennedy shifted his interest from books to posters and cards. He spent much of the next decade honing his craft in a series of small Alabama towns while traveling to teach, speak, and sell his work. In 2008, he moved to Detroit, Michigan where he established his print shop, Kennedy Prints!.

Using wood type and hand presses, Kennedy produces large editions of wildly colorful, typographically driven posters on inexpensive chipboard stock. His method often involves overprinting multiple layers of text and making constant, subtle alterations to the color of the inks throughout each press run, making each print being subtly unique. He passionately addresses issues of race, freedom, and equality in his work, often incorporating proverbs and tales of the Kuba and Yoruba people of Africa, as well as the work of Black American poets, such as Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906). Kennedy has printed under a number of press names, including York Show Prints, Kennedy & Sons, Fine Printers, and Kennedy Prints!

As more and more artists seek to steer away from computer-generated art, Kennedy is often credited with the revival of the letterpress in contemporary and folk art.

Artists' Books - United States
Kuba (African people)
Smoking -- Folklore
Tales -- Congo (Democratic Republic)
Tales -- Nigeria
Yoruba (African people) -- Folklore

Repository: Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Access Restrictions: Open to researchers.

Use Restrictions:

The RBML reproductions policies can be found here:

http://www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/ReproductionServices.htm

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study scholarship or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would damage materials or involve violation of copyright law.

Related Materials:

Amos Kennedy Digital Collection

Interview with Amos Kennedy (University of Wisconsin, Madison Library)

Amos Kennedy print collection (Library of Congress)

Processing Information: https://wiki.cites.uiuc.edu/wiki/display/librare/Home

Finding Aid Revision History: Revised 03/05/2026.

URL: https://go.library.illinois.edu/AmosPaulKennedyJrCatalog

Box and Folder Listing

Series 5: 2016 Accession

Sub-series 1: Small prints

Box 4

Folder 16

Item 1: “A ROOM without BOOKS is like a BODY without a SOUL. (Cicero)” [green], 2015

Item 2: “A ROOM without BOOKS is like a BODY without a SOUL. (Cicero)” [red], 2015

Folder 17

Item 1: “Architects are by nature and pursuit, leaders and teachers. (SAMBO MOCKBEE)”, 2015

Item 2: “Architecture has to be greater than just architecture… (SAMBO MOCKBEE)”, 2015

Item 3: “Everyone, rich or poor, deserves a shelter for the soul. (SAMBO MOCKBEE)”, 2015

Item 4: “The best way to make real architecture… (SAMBO MOCKBEE)”, 2015

Item 5: “It’s not about your greatness as an architect, but about your compassion. (SAMBO MOCKBEE)”, 2015

Item 6: “I tell my students, it’s got to be warm, dry, and noble. (SAMBO MOCKBEE)”, 2015

Folder 18

Item 1: “BAROUDEUR (Wayne State University)” [cyclist in background], 2015

Item 2: “BAROUDEUR (Wayne State University)” [cyclist in foreground], 2015

Folder 19

Item 1: “IT’S A STATE OF MIND! (Bay Saint Louis)”, 2015

Item 2: “AWESOMENESS, Come play the Bay way. (Bay Saint Louis)”, 2015

Item 3: “A place apart, a place of ART! (Bay Saint Louis)”, 2015

Item 4: “You’re NOT in MISSISSIPPI anymore. (Bay Saint Louis)”, 2015

Folder 20: “BE TOO BRAVE TO LIE. (George Washington Carver)”, 2015

Folder 21

Item 1: “BE TOO GENEROUS TO CHEAT. (George Washington Carver)” [purple], 2015

Item 2: “BE TOO GENEROUS TO CHEAT. (George Washington Carver)” [yellow], 2015

Folder 22: “BELLE ISLE AQUARIUM congratulates the Detroit Public Library…”, 2015

Folder 23

Item 1: “CASH & CARRY, a sale of Kennedy Prints! posters (Arts Estuary)”, 2015

Item 2: “CASH & CARRY, a sale of Kennedy Prints! posters (Smith & Lens)”, 2015

“Smith & Lens: a gallery of goodness (smithandlens.com)” on back.

Item 3: “CASH & CARRY, a sale of Kennedy Prints! posters (Smith & Lens)”, 2015

Item 4: “CASH & CARRY, a sale of Kennedy Prints! posters (The Greenhouse on Porter)”, 2015

“Southern Biscuits (greenhouseonporter.com)” on back.

Item 5: “CASH & CARRY, a sale of Kennedy Prints! posters (The Greenhouse on Porter)”, 2015

Folder 24: “CITIZENS for a BLIGHT FREE DETROIT”, 2015

Folder 25: “Creation of opportunity (The Prichard Mohawks)”, 2015

Folder 26: “DETROIT STRONG”, 2015

Folder 27: “Diverse books need us (Office for Intellectual Freedom)”, 2015

Folder 28: “DON’T LICK THE ART (Rusted Willow Artworks)”, 2015

Printed by Rusted Willow Artworks.

Folder 29: “echoColors (sara anne gibson)”, 2015

Printed by Sara Anne Gibson

Folder 30

Item 1: “End Slavery in theseunitedstatesofamerica” [American Negro Emancipation Centennial], 2015

Item 2: “End Slavery in theseunitedstatesofamerica” [inverted flags], 2015

Folder 31: “Everyone has a JOB. (The Prichard Mohawks)”, 2015

Folder 32: “Glenn Martin”, 2015

“Horseman, Pony Parties, Transportation” on back.

Folder 33

Item 1: “GUERILLA FOOD presents a fundraiser for the Pink Flamingo (guerrillafooddetroit.com)”, 2015

“guerilla Detroit” on back.

Item 2: “Guerrilla Food invites you… (guerillafooddetroit.com)”, 2015

“Farm-to-Table COOKING, Bonfire, Music, Fellowship” on back.

Folder 34

Item 1: “I am as SOUTHeRN aS BISCuitS”, 2015

Item 2: “I am as SOUTHeRN aS CoLLARD gREENS”, 2015

Item 3: “I am as SOUTHeRN aS POT LIKKER”, 2015

Item 4: “I am as SOUTHeRN aS SWEET TEA”, 2015

Folder 35: “I like being WEIRD! (Oak Johns)”, 2015

Folder 36: “It’s fun to be WEIRD! (Oak Johns)”, 2015

Folder 37: “If you have a library card, USE IT! If you don’t have a library card, GET ONE! (Detroit Public Library)”, 2015

Box 5

Folder 1: “John K. King, Used & Rare Books”, 2015

“Books are the best of things if well used…Ralph Waldo Emerson” on back.

Folder 2: “London Luggage”, 2015

“EAT WELL TRAVEL OFTEN” on back.

Folder 3

Item 1: “Down the rabbit hole underground you will find your inner misfit, (misfiteconomy)”, 2015

Item 2: “HUSTLE, COPY, HACK, PROVOKE, PIVOT, (misfiteconomy)”, 2015

Item 3: “ENTREPRENEURS are pirates, hackers, & gangstas. Give OUTSIDERS a way in, (misfiteconomy)”, 2015

Item 4: “Give OUTSIDERS a way in. Pirates, hackers, & gangsters are ENTREPRENEURS (misfiteconomy)”, 2015

Item 5: “INNOVATION is a seed planted in YOU. Let it GROW! “Give OUTSIDERS a way in. Pirates, hackers, & gangsters are ENTREPRENEURS (misfiteconomy)”, 2015

Folder 4

Item 1: “Put the message in the hands of the people and move on (Kent State University)”, 2015

Item 2: “Put the message in the hands of the people and move on (University of Akron)”, 2015

Workshop demo, progressive proofs.

Folder 5: “Ramon”, 2015

“Landscaping, Snow Removal, Moving” on back.

Folder 6: “The FOUNTAIN Of WISDOM fLOWS THROUGH BOOKS”, 2015

Folder 7: “To drink is human, to drink SWEET TEA is DIVINE”, 2015

Folder 8

Item 1: “VISIT B ELLE IS LE AQU ARIUM”, 2015

Item 2: “VISIT BELLE ISLE AQUARIUM”, 2015

Folder 9: “We are here to PLAY baseball. (The Prichard Mohawks)”, 2015

Folder 10: “OKRA FeSTIvAL 2016”, 2016

Sub-series 2: State road maps

Box 5

Folder 11: “SLAVE STATE” Missouri Official Highway Map, 2015

Folder 12: “Until the killing of black men, black mothers’ sons, is as important to the rest of the country as the killing of a white mother’s son, WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM CANNOT REST. (ELLA BAKER)” Kentucky Official Highway Map, 2015

Sub-series 3: Publications and promotional materials

Box 5

Folder 13: Mailer for Alberto Casiraghi’s exhibition “Games of the Flea: A Small Italian Publisher in America” at Indiana University, 2000

“Exhibit made possible by NAPPY – negroes in ART!” on back.

Folder 14: Flyer for Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. presentation at the University of Houston-Victoria, 2015

Folder 15: Mailer for Amos Paul Kennedy Jr.’s exhibition “PROCEED AND BE BOLD!”, 2015

Folder 16: Mailer for Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. presentation at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, 2015

Folder 17

Item 1: “Food Justice: Community, Local food, Water is life, Fresh Food, Farm-to-Table (Guerilla Food),” [orange], 2016-2017

Item 2: “Food Justice: Community, Local food, Water is life, Fresh Food, Farm-to-Table (Guerilla Food),” [blue and pink], 2016-2017

Item 3: “Food Justice: Community, Local food, Water is life, Fresh Food, Farm-to-Table (Guerilla Food),” [blue and pink], 2016-2017

Item 4: “Food Justice: Community, Local food, Water is life, Fresh Food, Farm-to-Table (Guerilla Food),” [blue and green], 2016-2017

Item 5: “GUERILLA FOOD: Community, Local food, Water is life, Fresh Food, Farm-to-Table (Guerilla Food),” [blue, green, and red], 2016-2017

Box 17

Folder 7: Weld for Birmingham newspaper, 2015

Sub-series 4: Handheld fans

Box 16

Folder 1: “BROTHER Nature PRODUCE”, 2015

Folder 2: “GOODWELLS NATURAL FOODS MARKET is a FAN of Detroit Friends Potato Chips Co.”, 2015

Sub-series 5: Posters

Box 25

Folder 1: “AMOS KENNEDY…IN THE GALLERY AT TEMPLE CONTEMPORARY", 2015

Folder 2: “AMOS PAUL KENNEDY JR. Poster Show!", 2015

Folder 3: “ART HISTORY, CERAMICS, METALSMITHING, ART EDUCATION (ART UNIVERSITY OF AKRON", 2015

Workshop demo. Progressive proofs.

Folder 4: “ARTSY FARTSY/DESIGN OR DIE!/WHO made THIS?!/DOERS/we are ART/TYPE GETS ME hype!”, 2015

Folder 5: “OOPS i ARTED/wHERE ART THOU?/make $TUFF/FOLK YEAH/M MYERS/DiNG-BATS", 2015

Folder 6: “DIVERSE BoOKS NEED US! (Office for Intellectual Freedom)", 2015

Folder 7: “FEAR EATS the SOUL", 2015

Folder 8: “GOOD ALL OVER (Wilkinsburg Letterpress; Tip Type & Directangle Press)", 2015

Folder 9: “I DON’T WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN, NONE OF MY FRIENDS ARE THERE. (Oscar Wilde)", 2015

Folder 10: “I WOULD TELL YOU TO GO TO HELL BUT I WORK THERE AND I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU EVERYDAY", 2015

Folder 11: “IF YOU ARE GONNA BE DUMB, YOU GOTTA BE TOUGH", 2015

Folder 12: “LIVE ON EDGE… YOU WILL HAVE A BETTER VIEW. (J.D. Chaddock)", 2015

Folder 13: “MIAD 2015 STUDENT ALUMNI ART & DESIGN SALE", 2015

Folder 14: “[N-word]S COME IN ALL COLORS", 2015

Folder 15: “O BE RL IN OHIO (Oberlin Underground Railroad Society, Phillis Wheatley House, Oberlin African-American Genealogy and History Group", 2015

Folder 16: “OKRA BUILDS COMMUNITY (okrafestival.org)", 2015

Folder 17: “OLD IS AN ATTITUDE", 2015

Folder 18

Item 1: “OUR MISSION IS TO CREATIVELY IMAGINE THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF ART (Temple Contemporary)” [red], 2015

Workshop demo, proofs on newsprint.

Item 2: “OUR MISSION IS TO CREATIVELY IMAGINE THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF ART (Temple Contemporary)” [blue], 2015

Workshop demo, proofs on newsprint.

Folder 19: “PUTTIN’ INK ON PAPER (The University of Akron Myers School of Art)", 2015

Workshop demo, progressive proofs.

Folder 20: “SMALL QUEER AND FULL OF FEAR!”, 2015

Workshop demo.

Folder 21: “th3 $UN & mOon goons", 2015

Workshop demo.

Folder 22: “THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE, UNTIL YOU MOW IT. (J.D. Chaddock)", 2015

Folder 23: “TYPE H!GH (Kent State)", 2015

Workshop demo.

Folder 24: “uNIVeRSitY oF eAST LONDON DETROit", 2015

Workshop demo.

Folder 25: “YOUR HAIR LOOKS FANTASTIC!”, 2015

Folder 26: “YOUR HAIR LOOKS GREAT!”, 2015

Folder 27: “BY THE TIME a FOOL LEARNS THE GAME, THE PLAYERS HAVE DISPERSED (Ashanti Proverb)", 2015

Folder 28: “EDUCATION IS WHAT YOU KNOW NOT WHAT’S IN THE BOOK. (Egyptian Proverb)", 2015

Folder 29: “InSTRUCTION IN YOUTH IS LIKE ENGRAVING IN STONE. (Moroccan Proverb)", 2015

Folder 30: “LEARN POLITENESS FROM THE imPolite. (Egyptian Proverb)", 2015

Folder 31: “LeaRnING ExPANDS GREAT SOULS. (Namibian Proverb)", 2015

Folder 32: “SHE WANDERS AROUND BY DAY A LOT, LEARNS A LOT. (Swahili Proverb)", 2015

Folder 33: “SHE WHO LEARNS, TEACHES. (Ethiopian Proverb)", 2015

Folder 34: “TO GET LOST IS TO LEARN THE WAY. (Swahili Proverb)", 2015

Folder 35: “TO TRY and FAIL, IS NOT LAZINESS. (Sierra Leonean Proverb)", 2015

Folder 36: “TRAVELING IS LEARNING. (Kikuyu Proverb)", 2015

Folder 37: “FUCK YOU! I’LL FUCK WHO I WANT (The Angry Gimp Press)", 2015

Folder 38: “I’M NOT YOUR FUCKING POSTER CHILD (The Angry Gimp Press)", 2015

Folder 39: “PITY IS A 4 LETTER WORD (The Angry Gimp Press)", 2015

Folder 40: “WE WISH WE HAD A BRAND NEW TRACTOR. (Melo Farms)", 2015

Folder 41: “I WISH I HAD A BRAND NEW COMBINE. (John Deere)", 2015

Folder 42: “I WISH I HAD A BRAND NEW TRACTOR. (John Deere)", 2015

Folder 43

Item 1: “POLICE STATE”, 2015

Map of the United States.

Item 2: “SLAVE NATION”, 2015

Map of the United States.

Flat File 5

Item 1: “LETTERPRESS is a NOUN not a verb", 2015